Prius HID Headlamps Stolen!

I'm curious about the "alarm didn't go off" comment. Did you add an aftermarket alarm? Did I miss something with the 2006 Prius... and it comes with an alarm? First I've heard.

MAJOR bummer to hear this. Just ticks me off. I can't believe it is worth the effort to anybody, but there you go.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jtaft @ Apr 6 2006, 02:01 PM) [snapback]235977[/snapback]</div>

That's awful. Sorry to hear about your loss.

FWIW, HID headlights for 02-03 Nissan Maximas are $700 EACH. They were a very common target for theft apparently in NY, NJ and another state. I didn't think MA was another common area for that. When I had an 02 Maxima and was active on maxima.org, it seemed like at least 1-2 people/week in NY or NJ got their HIDs stolen. Some had their headlights stolen as many as 3x.

I made a bunch of posts about Maxima HID theft at http://www.priusonline.com/viewtopic.php?t...er=asc&start=45 (also as cwerdna) if anyone's curious.

Fortunately, I've not heard of HID thefts here in Cali, yet...

 

If the HID is unhooked before the Paint and Pepper spray discharge is unplugged, you get one very serious explosion of both. The paint to be much like a bank heist marker, and the pepper spray, much like something you'd use on a bear in the woods.

To disarm, you need the key in the car and some version of interaction with the mfd. A big sticker on the inside that any tech would clearly see if they were working on your car.

The guy prying on your car with a flat bar would only have to guess if this is going to discharge.

Toughen the laws. Create a new type of 'Enforcement Officer'. This guys job is to run work crews. Judges start handing out a little tougher sentences than they do now, but also tack on about 1000 hours of some real crappy community service under the direction of this new EO.

Identity Fraud - 3 years in jail followed by 5000 hours working community service with the EO. You spend the next 5 years every weekend digging in new swingsets and bushes in the park, and shoveling snow off of city streets, eventually people will stop doing crappy crimes. Not police or sherriff officers running these work crews, but this new job title.. EO.

You show up to his crew on Saturday morning at 7am and decide you want to be a pain in the butt or not work for him, you get no credit for your day. 8 hours is tacked on as additional, eventually after tacking on 40 more hours and not subtracting off hours, you spend a week in jail as a reminder.

Bank robbery - normal sentence followed by 3000 hours CS.

Tagging - 3 months in jail, 2500 hours CS.

Eventually these people who run around screwing up this country will get the idea that they hate being in jail and they seriously hate spending all their free time on a work crew doing good things for the community.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(modernsituations @ Apr 6 2006, 04:04 PM) [snapback]235978[/snapback]</div>

Best reply EVER!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jtaft @ Apr 6 2006, 02:17 PM) [snapback]235982[/snapback]</div>

I'd prefer a small explosive on a timer after it was disconnected from the car...give it like ten minutes...give them time to get it into the car. Then...BOOM. They might think twice next time when they're missing a hand or an arm.

As for what others are saying here...a trap?? Against the law?? Gimme a break! It always has to be in the criminal's favor when you try to protect something dear to you...your family, your home, your car. When does the potential victim have the right to stop the crime from happening in the first place?

I wish I could do something like that car commercial when people are checking out the car and boobytraps go off...I figure that if you don't have the key near the car and it gets jostled--five inch steel spikes shoot up through the ground.

As a victim of crime myself, I feel for you. I hope you can get your baby back on the road as good as new in the least amount of time possible. Where did this happen anyway (location)?

 

The law in some places says that you can only use reasonable force to protect your property. My guess is that infliction of bodily harm to safeguard HIDs would be unreasonable and that you could be prosecuted. On the other hand if you knew that all of the jurors in your trial were going to be Prius owners (and even better, members of PriusChat), you would probably stand a better chance of acquittal!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Red Ginger @ Apr 7 2006, 01:23 PM) [snapback]236482[/snapback]</div>

Prius users/PriusChat = Fight Club

:lol:

 

Prius factory alarm?

 

It does beg the question what would the thief/fence do with these... the size of the actual headlight shells is so large that I doubt they would fit well in any other car besides the Prius. Maybe the power supply or other electronics could be used in other Toyotas, but then why would they bother removing the headlight shells?

I can't imagine there is a huge market of Prius owners wanting to replace their non-HID lights using stolen parts.

 

Sounds like the alarm is a good idea, glad to hear you'll be back to normal soon. If you have a view of the parking lot from your appt. you may be able to augment the alarm with one of these http://www.impactguns.com/store/ARM-50-LHG.html



h34r:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tleonhar @ Apr 7 2006, 09:23 PM) [snapback]236588[/snapback]</div>

Heh I would rather go with the Barret, cause you know you need 10 rounds of .50 cal not just one at a time

http://www.barrettrifles.com/rifles/rifles_82A1.htm

Though the personal touch of beating a theif with a baseball bat is not without its charm.

 

there was a time here in Texas you could shoot and kill the repo man collecting your car/truck at 3AM... happened in Houston... shooter got off.. now I think it is a crime..

Bat maybe, but a full auto mac-10 should to the job nicely... will save in court cost, will just need a few bags to pick up the parts though... :blink:

Me a three round pump action 12 guage... face down on the ground, call 911, and hope they try and run B) "Hey, punk... you have to think to yourself.. did he have time to load that thing, well did he... come on make my night" The 30-30 deer rifle will be better but might be a In and Out and hit the house across the street??

but, true, with the bat you would get a work out, and get to hear the bones crack..

back to oiling my guns.. :lol:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jtaft @ Apr 6 2006, 02:01 PM) [snapback]235977[/snapback]</div>

What a bummer. I have complete sympathy for you. This seems to go with nice cars in urban areas. Years ago I installed nice Hella lights in my Accord. They were stolen within 3 months. Sometimes I miss a bit of city living, but not this part.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jtaft @ Apr 6 2006, 05:17 PM) [snapback]235982[/snapback]</div>

As jbarnhart said, it's not legal. That not to say that you can't do it... But you might suffer the legal consciences, which ultimately might be more expensive than dealing with your insurance provider. ‘Might’ be.

A family member of mine used to connect the ‘hot’ side of the AC mains to the body of his motor cycles at night – some 30 years ago because someone kept stealing parts off of them… Then, one night there was this really loud “uhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaa <tools dropping – scuffling>.†And never again did his motorcycles get messed with or touched. No one was seriously injured – I’ll bet the perps arm/chest/legs were _really_ soar the next day.

The hardest part about electrifying the body of the vehicle is making an effective connection from the HV source to the ground. This connection is needed in order to create an electrical potential difference between the ground (person) and the exterior of the vehicle (HV source). The next problem is isolating the power source for the HV power supply and the vehicles electrical system. The easiest solution is to just power the HV power supply from a battery – separate from the vehicles electrical system.

Small HeNe laser power supplies work well – they already take a DC input and usually have a very low current output and the 1.2 kV is usually enough to give a good tingle to make life painful but not harmful.

Note: I am not responsible for YOUR actions, problems, electrocutions, and/or damage to vehicle. Play responsibly.

 

To expand on Oly's idea.

If you live anywhere near where you can get farm supplies, you could get an electric fence charger. They are used for livestock control and put out very short duration pulses of very high voltage, very low current. Many of them are battery operated, some even with solar to charge the battery.

Also, any dog, ahm, marking his territory, on your wheels gets quite a "wake-up call". :lol:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dipper @ Apr 7 2006, 12:59 AM) [snapback]236224[/snapback]</div>

What are riceboys?


Anyway, my Prius was broken into recently. At least your deductible was only $300! Mine was $1000. I just installed a glass breakage sensor. But not sure if that would help with the Prius HID being removed, maybe if you turn up the sensitivity of the sensor. One possibility would be to park the front of the Prius really close to the end of another car or against a wall, to make it harder for the criminal to take the HIDs off (less space to work in front of the car).

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tmorrowus @ Apr 7 2006, 04:17 PM) [snapback]236549[/snapback]</div>

You'd be surprised. As mentioned in the previous post, there was a huge problem with theft of the Nissan Maxima HID lights. Any time a model is offerred with halogen lights and the HID lights are optional, there will be a potential market to sell HID lights to the halogen light people. HIDs are clearly superior, so rather than spend the $1,000+ to purchase a new set, people will pay a couple hundred bucks to buy the stolen HIDs.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pcjr @ Apr 11 2006, 07:40 PM) [snapback]238364[/snapback]</div>

If I have to explain it, then you just showed your age...

http://www.riceboypage.com/

Check that page out and you will understand.